Another Play Day

Working with friends yesterday and we had a productive yet fun day. Last week we did some playing and spread threads, yarns, rovings and fabric pieces on a foundation then covered them with light weight fabric and free motion stitched over the top anchoring everything down. Then we ironed them under baking paper to melt the light weight fabric, which melted a little. Forgot the heat gun so we could really give it some heat. We were happy with our play day. A couple of postcards were made with the pieces.
Forgot the camera that day and didn't take any photos. Yesterday we had another play day and I did take photos. Working from pictures Lexie and Trish made Journal size pieces after we did some melting of fabrics with the heat gun.

Lexie's Leaves
Our friendly photographer worked with a great photo she'd taken of leaf litter. some of the leaves are free motion stitched to give a 3D look to the piece. More stitching to come.






Trish's Beach Scene
This beach scene is looking great and I look forward to seeing it when the stitching is finished. It was fun working with limitied pallets, only choosing from the fabrics they had to hand. I love Trish's rocks at the bottom of the small hill.




This is the piece I played with using some of the pieces we melted. I placed them on a foundation, covered them with black netting then free motion stitched around and over.

New Work Progress

Funny how you start off thinking "This is what I'm going to do" and then you begin and as you start working on the piece the original idea can change and take on a form quite different from what you originally had planned. I started off with the photo below but things have changed drastically. I'm liking where this piece is going, the plan now is to add more leaf shapes that I'm going to find in my garden.

Really happy with the way these leafs worked. I used bleach to paint in the lines and it worked really well.

New Work Started
Took these photos of part my garden. I've always thought the tree trunk would be good to reproduce with fabric. I have begun working on the leaf litter under the pot which I'd like to include in the piece.

This is the start of the leaf litter and I've started working on the grass. I'm using spray glue to build this onto wadding then free motion stitching things down. Its very freeing and so far I'm very happy with the way it looks.

Beach Scene Stage 2
Teresa added some more pieces to her beach scene this week. She's very happy with it and has started the free motion quilting.

Helping Hands
38" x 44"
This is a piece I've been working on for over a year.

Each year we have 'White Balloon Day' to increase public awareness of child abuse. One of my Journal Quilts, (made for the 2004 Quilt Art Journals project) depicted the October event and it occurred to me that the Bravehearts Organisation that works towards helping abused children and raising awareness of abuse might be interested in this piece in a larger format as a fund raiser. I emailed them with a picture of my Journal Quilt and an offer to make a larger one for them and they said yes thankyou.

It has taken longer than I thought as I could only work on it when I was able to deal with its message. Today I'm going to send another email and let them know its ready.

Close Up

and Septembers Journal Quilt.

8 1/2" x 11"

Painted Backgrounds
Had some fun painting some backgrounds to use with my big tree fetish. I love big trees in my quilts.
I sold a couple so now have to do a few more and I haven't been able to use one myself so might have to hide one just for me.

Here are two for you to see.

Teresa's Beach Scene


Working with Teresa yesterday was great fun.
After her success with her first drawing and the piece she made from it she was ready to move on to something larger.
Working with the few dyed fabrics she had and a few pieces from my scrap box this is what she was able to do in only a few hours.
The sky fabric was a bit too blue so we worked on it with a rag soaked in some bleach, dabbing it here and there to give the piece some clouds.
Next time there will be some plants added.
The pink fabric was one of Teresa's largest pieces and the only piece big enough to use as a border, it brightens up the whole piece.

Friends Heads

Had a great weekend with friends and managed to get them to let their hair down and work on a portrait each. Julie-Ann on the right is blossoming into spring and Ann is trying out Tranquility. Not really their type of work or colours but they were happy with their
efforts

Recycled Postcard

Scraps of fabric were spread out on a plastic shopping bag. Then covered with more plastic and placed in a hoop. Twin needle stitched with the sewing machine then ironed to melt the plastic.

The white plastic bag melted more than the clear plastic bag did. The vegetable bag, used on the roof, melted more than the clear plastic bag.

Recycled cardboard on the back.

I've been painting the external doors of my house. I had dark green doors which once upon a time I liked. Now I need a change and what a change. The house is 150 feet up the driveway and the door can now be seen from the front gate. Previously there was no sign of the house through the trees, different story since the paint job. I still have to paint the door surround and then it will be time to move inside. No more cream walls.

Why the Maggies were Neglected


I had a creative workshop at home and was busy with other things.
It was a good class and Teresa, who said she couldn't draw did a great job. She was extremely happy with herself.
She did some drawings and then made a small piece using her drawings as patterns. Some practice at free machine quilting and applique and she was in her element. I really enjoy workshops when someone finds their talent and their confidence is boosted and they too enjoy the process. I guess thats what its all about.

Dying Days



What a great palette from a recent dying workshop.

Hungry Visitor
I had a workshop today and neglected my other duties. Not to be ignored the neglected came inside and perched on the lounge. Bread was used to entice her outside. Every year I feed bread and other treats to the Magpies so they can feed thier babies and this year its been a treat as she comes to the door and waits for food, flapping her wings as if saying hello. I've been painting the front door so the handles are off, the screen door is off and she came inside 3 times yesterday along with her mate on one occasion. Must get the handles back on today.
Looks to me like they have an interest in quilting?

"Its Raining"
This is the first of the postcards I made to swap with the "Aus_NZartquilters". Inspired by the rain we've had after many months of dry weather, water restrictions and dry brown crunchy grass. I've stitched down from the top with glitter thread and left the ends floating free.



Another Postcard in the mail.



"Flowers in the Rain"
Dyed fabric on the back, wool roving spread out and ironed with steam under baking paper, threads cut and scattered over the piece then free machined with glitter thread at the top and a green thread on the bottom.

I'm enjoying working with these small pieces and trying new things.

Sisters

I've just had a great 2 weeks with my sister Evelyn. She lives 1200 miles away and we don't see each other often so it was a special holiday for both of us.
To finish it off well, for me that is, we both drew a picture of each other and made up a portrait which I kindly let her take home. I can make my own later.

Evelyn doesn't sew or draw and surprised herself with her finished piece. She had always wanted to draw a Giraffe which is the only reason I have one on my head.

This is my picture of Evelyn, the elephant collector.

A flower & butterfly to remember the time spent in my garden and hers when I visit her.

Hearts for love and the Sun for warmth and hope.

Fabric Bowls

Had somefun making fabric bowls. This is one of my favourites.
It looks good inside out too. Its now full of favourite buttons and tyvek beads.

'Beach to Country'

This is my entry to 'Down Under Quilts' magazines 1st calendar competition. I am pleased to tell you that I won the competition and my quilt is on the front cover of the 2006 calendar.
All the quilts in the calendar will be on show in Mittagong NSW Australia during 'Quilt Indulgence' from the 7th - 11th Sept 2005.
This is the first competition I've entered and I was thrilled to win. It encouraged me to enter another quilt in Dyanne Cevaal next touring exhibition 'Across Australia' and that quilt and others from the exhibition will also be on show in Mittagong in September.

My how time flies, can't believe how long it's been since I last did this.

A couple of small quilty bits to share.

I've made some Artist Trading Cards to swap with the Aus_NZArtquilters list. Looking forward to getting my swap to touch and look at some wonderful techniques. These were great fun to make

What I did.

I scrunched up fabric and them ironed it to a stabaliser then free motion stitched all over it with a Rayon thread.

I then ironed loose threads to fusible webbing then ironed them to the front of my pieces. I overstitched them a little just to be sure they stay on.

Some have thicker yarn on them which I've couched down. All of them have a gum leaf

made using painted tyvek which I'd painted and heat shrunk. Fun process and I'm ready for the next swap

My self portrait done after reading the article in Quilting Arts magazine.

I used some left over pieces from the last quilt I was working on.

Friends have commented that I look Sad, might have to do another one and see if I can look a bit happier. I

personally think I'm looking pensive. Who knows.

'In a Twist'

This is a piece that started as a doodle while I was chatting on the phone. I really liked the shapes and decided to make up a small one.

I'm enjoying working with smaller pieces, it lets me play with colour without wasting too much fabric. If I don't like the way one colour looks it's easy to change it for another.

I played with 2 threads in the bobbin. The pale pink in the lower centre was thick thread in the bobbin and sewn from the back. I wish I'd used a darker thread for that but again I played and learnt something at the same time. Don't rush in, stop and check occasionally and think about whats unfolding.

This is my latest work and I'm trying to decide if the borders are necessary. I made up an A4 size one first and that has no borders. Now I can't decide if borders are ok, should perhaps be a different colour, or leave them off???? The one with borders is pinned ready to start quilting but I'm still unsure.
Any suggestions welcome.

Spent a day with two friends last week playing with wool and tried some felting.

This was my effort made from dyed pieces I'd collected from a spinner. I lost the middle of one of my flowers but that's easily corrected.

I need to try this again with already felted yarn and cut out shapes and felt them onto a larger background. Interesting process and we did have fun playing.